Anyone who has played an open-world Bethesda game knows there are nearly endless possibilities within them, and that sentiment is quadrupled for the space-exploration experience of Starfield. As the studio’s first new IP in nearly three decades, it’s clear even at a glance that Starfield is packed to the brim with planets to explore, NPCs to meet, creatures to discover, and choices to make about your character’s role in the universe. However, we also live in an age where cooperative and competitive gaming has become wildly popular, so it’s reasonable to ask if Starfield boasts the same multiplayer functionality as Bethesda’s shared-world title Fallout 76. Here’s what you need to know.
No, Starfield does not have multiplayer, meaning you are unable to team up with friends in the game’s vast universe in any way. As such, for those seeking cooperative exploration or PVP showdowns, Starfield won’t be able to scratch that itch for you, as it’s an entirely solo experience from beginning to end.
However, while Bethesda has not given any indication that multiplayer is coming to Starfield, the studio’s games are known far and wide for their passionate modding community. Because of this, there’s always the chance that some creative fans of the game will eventually create mods that could add some type of co-op to the game, or even allow players to fight one another in PVP. If and when these types of mods will be available is unknown, though, so players will simply have to get lost in Starfield alone for the time being.
Starfield launches on Xbox Series X and PC on September 6. Those who purchase the Premium Edition can begin playing the game early on September 1.
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Gaming laptops and I have a complicated relationship. One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it. I was a broke college kid, and that was the best I could afford. So trying out high-end gaming laptops is always fun. But ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14 is a lot more than a laptop that can run AAA games. It is portable, so you're not lugging around a 2.5kg machine everywhere you go. It is built well, none of that plastic chassis, and can even function as a normal laptop outside of just gaming.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.